Château Beychevelle, 4ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2025
Following a brilliant tasting of Chateau Beaumont, we had high hopes for sister chateau, Beychevelle. We were not disappointed. A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, this feels like it's been made sympathetically, extracting a gorgeous core of sweet, perfumed fruit and seductive tannins. Notes of tobacco, cassis, bramble fruit and a touch of sous bois lead to a fleshy palate with waves of pure berries with mineral substance below the fruit. Perfumed with purple highlights and fresh salty plum and griotte supported by a graceful weave of tannins. It culminates with an unctuous, creamy finish. A superb Beychevelle.
critic reviews
The 2025 Beychevelle was picked from September 5 to 21 at 31 hl/ha, fairly reasonable for Saint-Julien this year, albeit the second lowest after 2013. Matured in 70% new oak, this has a concentrated nose with blackcurrants, blueberry, inkwell and light violet scents. Very fine definition, a Beychevelle that leans on the more opulent side aromatically, though always controlled. The palate is medium-bodied with a velvety smooth entry that lends it sensuality. Extremely precise, exquisite pure fruit, quite mineral-driven with a very long, quite sensual finish. I don't think Philippe Blanc has overseen a Beychevelle as good as this. 13.4% alcohol.
Cloves and grilled red peppers, deep mulberry fruits, this is so delicious, charcoal and liquorice, St Julien balance, really luscious and joyful. Yield 32 hl/ha. Philippe Blanc director.
The 2025 Beychevelle reveals a toasty, oak-marked bouquet of dark wild berries, licorice and spice. Medium- to full-bodied, structured and concentrated, it’s built around an assertive tannic frame, concluding with a long, spicy, licorice-inflected finish. While the wine is marked by both concentration and oak at this stage, élevage may bring greater finesse and a more integrated, enveloping tannic profile.